• Sacred land • Good work ‘Doc’ • Respect our ‘aina • A lot at stake here Sacred land Regarding the Coco Palms, why not turn the property into either a county or state park? For example, 9,000 acres on
• Sacred land
• Good work ‘Doc’
• Respect our ‘aina
• A lot at stake here
Sacred land
Regarding the Coco Palms, why not turn the property into either a county or state park? For example, 9,000 acres on the Big Island were recently preserved in conservation land rather than being developed into luxury homes and a golf course. The state negotiated with the Pace family for the purchase of the land. Sen. Gary Hooser proposed purchasing the Coco Palms to convert it into a park for residents and visitors alike. The location has a beautiful history and is sacred in the hearts of many. Perhaps a grant from Elvis’ Graceland could help.
Lynn Brodie
Princeville
Good work ‘Doc’
What liberals normally do in response to a principled conservative argument is lie, manufacture quotes, transfer their own sexism, racism, reverse discrimination and hatred onto the conservative pundit or simply call conservatives names. So I have to congratulate Dennis Chaquette for at least trying to come up with some actual facts. Unfortunately his “facts” are no more then political propaganda. “Doc” Gordon should feel pretty good because copying another person’s actions is the highest form of flatTery. “Doc” now has two liberals that have tried to copy what he has done in this Forum. Just a suggestion, Dennis, you need to stop watching CNN, absorbing their propaganda, and then voting on your urges. Your feelings are your reality. By the way, the “rich” to CNN and to the liberal left is anyone in the hard-working middle class who has a job and pays taxes. Keep up the good work, “Doc.”
Peter R. Saker
Lihu‘e
Respect our ‘aina
I would like to respond to Deborahlee Celestino’s letter on Oct. 2, “Work toward aloha.”
Deborahlee Celestino asks all people of Hawaiian ancestry to not stand up to the Superferry and our lawless governor and DOT director.
It sounds as if Deborahlee would have fit right into the Annexation Club (that ousted Queen Lili‘uokalani).
The destiny of the Hawaiian spirit of aloha will be forever erased when the people of Hawai‘i allow crimes against the ‘aina to be continually perpetuated.
Aloha spirit does not mean that the people of Hawai‘i are cowards, or should not stand up for themselves, as Deborahlee seems to imply.
To not stand up for your ‘aina, is to help in its desecration. You will be part of the blame.
Hawaiians are exactly the ones who should be protesting the illegal invasion of their land by a corporation this time around.
Beware the politicians’ lies that hide the truth, while evading the real questions.
If you have respect for the ‘aina, then you should be protesting a huge fast-moving ship that can do great potential damage.
An EIS will tell this corporation exactly what they need to do to help preserve Hawai‘i and the endangered animals surrounding our islands.
That is the point of an EIS.
To respect and preserve our ‘aina.
What type of person would want to avoid this?
Dennis Chaquette
Kapa‘a
A lot at stake here
There have been a number of letters to the editor with the sentiment of letting the ferry boat have a chance. There are those who are embarrased that we protested it. There are some, like the woman who spoke at the meeting with Gov. Linda Lingle who would benefit by not having to take a wheelchair to the airplane. I have sympathy for her and those for whom the current situation is difficult. However, we who live on Kaua‘i have to think about why we are here and what we like about being here. If it were just a new mode of transportation I would have no problem with it. What is at stake here is much more. It’s our environment, our resources, our way of life that are up for grabs. What we are doing by implementing car ferry service to Kaua‘i is opening up all that we have to anyone who has a car or truck. People don’t come to Kaua‘i for the shopping or the nightlife. They are not driving cars here to eat at our restaurants. What people come to Kaua‘i for is free for the taking. It’s our beaches, our waves, our fish, the mountains, all the natural resources that we take for granted that bring visitors here. When I talk to people on O‘ahu what they are excited about is loading up a truck with fishing gear, hunting gear, dirt bikes and other equiment. They can come here, bring all they need, camp on the beaches, use what they want, take what they can and go home without having to deal with the consequences. We need to pay attention to this because no one else is. If you don’t believe that, look at the headlines from the Honoulu Advertiser two weeks ago. On Tuesday the headline was “Rocks Stolen on Maui.”
The next day, the top of the page was Gov. Lingle announcing that the ferry would come and protesters would be prosecuted. No mention of the first concrete example of the cost to the environment by ferry traffic. I have not seen anything by the government or the ferry administration about measures to control the impact of increased use. We don’t have the police or game wardens to control what is going on here now. So think about why you are here on Kaua‘i. Do you really want to risk it for the convenience of taking your car to O‘ahu? Since statehood, we have been trading our natural resources for convenience and economic development. It’s not more convenient to drive here now than it was in the 1960s. You could argue that there are a lot more wealthy people, but there is a lot more poverty and homelessness as well. Driving our cars to O‘ahu to shop there isn’t going to benefit Kaua‘i. Having ferry riders drive over to camp with all they need purchased on O‘ahu isn’t going to benefit Kaua‘i. With a million people versus our less than 70,000, the overwhelming majority of cars will be O‘ahu cars coming from and returning to O‘ahu. I do not see this as a benefit to Kaua‘i. So let’s go into this with our eyes open. There’s a lot at stake here.
Philip Morgan
Kapa‘a
